Acura Demo Integra Type-S?

[Hicks2seven]

So I held out on the pre-order due to already having a deposit on an allocation with my preferred color combo.

However, today my dealer told me that the one coming in my color combination is slated as a 'demo' from Acura and they'd have to hold it on the showroom floor for 30 days.

I asked about mileage, wear-and-tear, etc.... But he assured me they'd have it taped off and locked with a 'sold' sticker on it - and no one would be allowed to take it for a test drive.

Still, I don't exactly have a warm and fuzzy on this one. In the past I've always seen people get major discounts on demo vehicles because they're used for all kinds of things at the dealership (test drives, tech training, etc...)

I'm considering pulling my deposit, or simply moving to another color code. Does anyone have experience with something like this?

***Side note - they expect the demo vehicles in the next 3-4 weeks....I'm almost curious if that means they'll beat the pre-order to the dealer or show up on the same truck?

 

[Integra23]

This market and with a high demand vehicle you may not get a discount.
The other caveat is it will more than likely be loaded with every accessory. Are you wanting this or have they confirmed what accessories will be installed?

 

[Grelco]

I talked to a few dealers that had a slot open for their demo car as well at one time, (getting 4 total cars + 1 demo, only 4 people on their list) and heard the same about the demo. They had to hold it in their showroom for at least 30 days, but if I put a deposit down they wouldn't let anyone drive it. I think it's a legitimate option, people will be getting in and out of it and that's about it (assuming they don't let anyone secretly drive it).

I got the sense from talking to everyone that all dealers will have one of their allocations be designated as a demo for this reason, so they have one in their main room for at least a period of time.

 

[ijm5012]

If your dealer told you no one will drive it, and the mileage confirms that, what’s the concern?

 

[Hicks2seven]

This market and with a high demand vehicle you may not get a discount.
The other caveat is it will more than likely be loaded with every accessory. Are you wanting this or have they confirmed what accessories will be installed?

I have not confirmed that. But I will double check. The dealer knows I'm capped at $56K with MSRP + TTL + Dest fee. I'm expecting somewhere between $55-55.5K OTD.

 

[RUNN1N]

I have not confirmed that. But I will double check. The dealer knows I'm capped at $56K with MSRP + TTL + Dest fee. I'm expecting somewhere between $55-55.5K OTD.

I'm with @Integra23, no way this thing is getting discounted for being a demo (whether it has miles or not), but I'd strongly recommend you ask as many people as possible about accessories. Get the answer(s) in writing even. According to the guys at Serra Acura (all things Acura show on YouTube), the dealership is obligated by Acura to install a list of mandatory accessories on the vehicle that's flagged as their "demo" car. That's part of their obligation in exchange for getting a demo vehicle, which is essentially an extra allocation, according to these guys.

Of course, all of this stuff is technically removable... but once it goes on the car, good luck getting them to take it off. It's going to be around $3k in accessories.

It's toward the end of the video:

 

[Integra23]

I'm with @Integra23, no way this thing is getting discounted for being a demo (whether it has miles or not), but I'd strongly recommend you ask as many people as possible about accessories. Get the answer(s) in writing even. According to the guys at Serra Acura (all things Acura show on YouTube), the dealership is obligated by Acura to install a list of mandatory accessories on the vehicle that's flagged as their "demo" car. That's part of their obligation in exchange for getting a demo vehicle, which is essentially an extra allocation, according to these guys.

Of course, all of this stuff is technically removable... but once it goes on the car, good luck getting them to take it off. It's going to be around $3k in accessories.

It's toward the end of the video:

That $3k doesn't count installation...

 

[btrip]

I have not confirmed that. But I will double check. The dealer knows I'm capped at $56K with MSRP + TTL + Dest fee. I'm expecting somewhere between $55-55.5K OTD.

I have a deposit on a demo as well. White/Red. What color is your dealer getting? The car will be MSRP, but accessories will hit you for $5,822.88, which is not even including installation. Use the dealer net as a negotiation tool. Sell either the shark gray or bronze wheels, and that helps offset the cost even more. Armed with this info, I’m hoping the my dealer shows a bit of flexibility. Speaking with the sales manager it seems he will be willing to work out a deal.

BTW.. If you live in a front plate state (like I do), make sure you tell the dealership to not install the front plate frame when they PDI it and install the accessories.

 

[Integra23]

I found this on FB where the dealer will be charging almost $8k for that list

 

[Lflouie]

2 dealer's in my region answers are slightly different than mentioned.

Dealers must keep for 30 days, and it will have numerous "dealer installed options".....exactly which ones they didn't know, but guesstimate + $5k.

The dealers both said it will be full msrp for car and options.....so roughly $57k at full msrp + options before dealer fees. Guessing closer to $58k with $600 paint color cost.

The dealers said that they will take a deposit for the demo...and they will allow "qualified customers" , at a minimum anyone with a deposit on an allocation, to drive it. Expected it to have 200 -500 mi when sold.

They each said they would receive their demo around mid June and it would take a few days to install all the dealer options ( required by Acura to be on the demo) so likely 3rd - 4th week of June.

The demo will preceed delivery of the pre-release orders (200 units). There are approx 250 Acura dealers that qualify for a demo, so 250 demo cars before the 200 pre- release ordered cars are shipped.

Both of the dealers indicated they were getting white cars for their demo.

 

[Grelco]

Good to know on the timing. I wonder what the gap between demo cars landing and preorder cars will be - maybe they'll go into July if it takes until mid June to get the demos out.

 

[Hicks2seven]

My demo is also white....starting to think all demos are white with red interior

 

[RUNN1N]

The dealers both said it will be full msrp for car and options.....so roughly $57k at full msrp + options before dealer fees. Guessing closer to $58k with $600 paint color cost.

I'd try to get that in writing so you're very clear about what they intend to charge--I don't believe they're letting the car with accessories go for MSRP + TTL (even if it has 200-500 miles). It's more than $4k worth of accessories + the time/labor of installation for all of them.

The best deal I can imagine a dealership offering would be MSRP for the car + their invoice cost on all the accessories (aka them eating the labor cost of installation), but it'd be great if you were right and it was $57k-ish out the door with all those accessories.

 

[Lflouie]

I've heard a range of the estimated cars each dealer will receive in 2023 is from 2 (very small dealer) to 11 (large mega dealer) with the most common numbers of 4, 5, or 7 cars (plus 1 demo). If I assume an average of 7 cars x 250 dealers = 1750 cars. Add 250 demo cars and it equals 2000 cars total.

Assuming they started production May 1, it would yield 35 wks of production or approx 50 -60 per week if averaged over the remainder of the year. This would suggest that some pre-order cars could be arriving by early July.

Most likely they would produce a single color/interior combination each week to debug the line and maximize their efficiences. That would imply that over the month of June they could start to produce each of the 50 car runs of pre-release colors and begin shipping to dealers by the first half of July and on through mid August.

If this is the production model they use, allocation cars could go into production by August.

Speculating further, if they scale their production line for the Type S to gradually ramp from 50 to 100 cars per week then the annual production for calendar yr 2024 could be approx 5k cars.... a limited production car but not a rare car.

FYI,
The Focus RS (2016 -2018) sold under 4k (USA) cars in calendar yr 2016 (started production April 2016 - first shipments May). Calendar yr 2017 was the only year of full production, by 2018 the car was being phased out so less than 1k cars sold that yr. I estimate total USA sales at approx 8k -10k cars for the RS. Once again, limited production but not rare.....only made for 28 months.

 

[Lflouie]

I'd try to get that in writing so you're very clear about what they intend to charge--I don't believe they're letting the car with accessories go for MSRP + TTL (even if it has 200-500 miles). It's more than $4k worth of accessories + the time/labor of installation for all of them.

The best deal I can imagine a dealership offering would be MSRP for the car + their invoice cost on all the accessories (aka them eating the labor cost of installation), but it'd be great if you were right and it was $57k-ish out the door with all those accessories.

My quick estimates on pricing, even for a demo are as follows;

$51999 base car msrp ( w/ destination)
600 paint (except no cost silver)
600 dealer fees
Total = $53199 + ttl

Demo $6000 to 7500 of installed dealer options.

Total for a demo = approx $60k + ttl.

About the same prIce as a base CTR with $15k ADM.